Alignment issues after lift

[Musclemckeester]

That's the spec for a 3/4" bolt. Not sure why you would ha e a smaller bolt in yours. Should look just like this one.

Yeah that's it. Ok so it is a 3/4" bolt. In an attempt at a quick fix Wednesday night I had gone to Home Depot for a bolt and the 3/4" I got there I couldn't get to fit so I assumed it was either metric or a 5/8" bolt. I ended up just waiting until yesterday when I could get the actual bolt from the dealer. Regardless the bolt isn't going anywhere with 200 ft/lbs of torque on it.

I wonder why the bolt broke then. Who knows, that's the least of my worries now anyway.

In this pic I can see the drag link rotational stop is not even in the coupler ( the rusty piece that looks like it got bent out of the way ), that is there to keep the slop out of it and prevent the coupler from spinning if it were to ever come loose.

Oh wow, you're right! I hadn't even noticed that. I'll get that tightened down. I'm guessing they must have loosened that to adjust it then not put it back tight. I wonder why he didn't see that last night when it was on the rack. Good catch for sure.

 

[SEABEE08FX4]

Yeah that's it. Ok so it is a 3/4" bolt. In an attempt at a quick fix Wednesday night I had gone to Home Depot for a bolt and the 3/4" I got there I couldn't get to fit so I assumed it was either metric or a 5/8" bolt. I ended up just waiting until yesterday when I could get the actual bolt from the dealer. Regardless the bolt isn't going anywhere with 200 ft/lbs of torque on it.

I wonder why the bolt broke then. Who knows, that's the least of my worries now anyway.



Oh wow, you're right! I hadn't even noticed that. I'll get that tightened down. I'm guessing they must have loosened that to adjust it then not put it back tight. I wonder why he didn't see that last night when it was on the rack. Good catch for sure.

Not sure, but if you grab it you should be able to rotate it like a motorcycle throttle. If its puts up some good resistance then the joints are good an tight. If its really easy to move and feels a little sloppy check the coupler and make sure its tight. If its tight then that joint could just be worn out and need replacing. Some time things that are worn out you don't notice until you modify something that either creates a new angle or wear spot that makes it more pronounced.

 

[Musclemckeester]

Not sure, but if you grab it you should be able to rotate it like a motorcycle throttle. If its puts up some good resistance then the joints are good an tight. If its really easy to move and feels a little sloppy check the coupler and make sure its tight. If its tight then that joint could just be worn out and need replacing. Some time things that are worn out you don't notice until you modify something that either creates a new angle or wear spot that makes it more pronounced.

Checked the drag link at lunch. Yes, it does move like a bike throttle as you mentioned. It wasn't super easy but it wasn't super tight either. I think it may be like you say, that it was on its way being worn out and now the lift has worn a new spot. That coupler does need to be tightened a little more but I don't have my tools with me to do it now. It's tight just not as tight as it could be.

I guess that leads me to my next question, can the joints on the drag link be replaced by itself? The guy at NTB was tyring to tell me you replace the drag link as a whole...but I don't put a lot of faith in what they say.

I'm glad it seems like this is getting narrowed down somewhat. This has been driving me crazy for the last 2 weeks.

 

[SEABEE08FX4]

Depends on what side is worn, if its on the passenger side knuckle you can replace just that tire rod joint. If its on the Pitman arm side I believe you have to buy the whole drag link.

 

[Musclemckeester]

Gotcha, thanks again Eric! I really appreciate the help. I'm going to get an offroad shop to take a look for me since I'm still not really sure what I'm doing here. Both sides seemed to have about the same play, so it might be alright. I guess if by chance the drag link does check out ok then that would leave it to be caster.

 

[SEABEE08FX4]

No worries, hope you get it figured out bud.

 

[Musclemckeester]

Well I stopped off at the local 4x4 shop that mounted my tires a couple weeks ago. I described the issues I've been having and the guy said lets go for a drive. Got back and the guy checked the front end. They had suspected that maybe the pitman arm bolt was loose. No play anywhere, he said track bar and drag like was all fine. I asked him about the caster because they do their own alignments there. He said mine was fine and wouldn't be causing this steering issue anyway.

His only suggestion was just to drive it for a while longer. If it gets worse its likely something in the steering box.

It really had him baffled though.

 

[morefuel]

Is there any possibility of the factory steering stabilizer angle being off and somehow causing a problem?

 

[SEABEE08FX4]

At this point anything is possible I guess. If your steering box has slop in it the it is adjustable. However its such a fine line to adjust it, too much and you can ruin it. Probably better off getting a redhead unit and swapping it out if that's the case. Did you by chance swap the pitman arm out?

 

[Musclemckeester]

I really think the factory steering stabilizer is fine but who knows.

The pitman arm is factory. I asked if I needed to change for one with a drop in it when I talked to Rough Country this morning but the guy said that's really only for the bigger lifts.

 

[SEABEE08FX4]

On the factory stabilizer you can always remove it, take it for a shirt drive and see if its any better or worse. If your running a 3" lift that's pretty maxed for a stock pitman. Might want to look at a drop one.

 

[Musclemckeester]

I actually have dual stabilizers waiting to go on. I was planning to leave the factory stabilizer on but I could just pull it off too.

The pitman arm drop is a good thought. I'll definitely look into that.

 

[CRAWLR]

Did this ever get resolved?

 

[Musclemckeester]

Not exactly. I've just been driving it like it is. It hasn't gotten any worse. I've been thinking about trying to have them align it again now that things have settled after the lift.

 

[Musclemckeester]

Looks like my issues are related to steering box. It hasn't gotten any worse which is good.

I still don't know what I could have done during the lift that would have messed with the steering box though. It must have been something though because it was fine before I did the lift.

I've read some things that say that the steering box can be tightened. If I can get brave I may try that, but what I've read its a very slight adjustment and overtighening can lead to ruining the steering box altogether. So I'm not sure at this point if the wheel being off a little is worth the hassle.

 

[Stroked777]

Did you install a drop pitman arm on it?

 

[Musclemckeester]

I did not. When I had called Rough Country they said it wasn't needed for a 3" lift.

 

[Big Stroker 6.4]

Did you install a drop track arm bracket without a drop pitman arm?

 

[Musclemckeester]

Did you install a drop track arm bracket without a drop pitman arm?

That's correct.

 

[Big Stroker 6.4]

That's correct.

Your steering geometry is way out of whack then. You're seriously lucky your truck hasn't gone into a death wobble. You need a pitman arm that matches the drop of the truck bar bracket or put the stock bracket back on and get an adjustable trac bar ASAP.